Kenneth Welsh

Biography

Kenneth Welsh, CM (March 30, 1942 – May 5, 2022) was a Canadian film and television actor (sometimes credited as Ken Welsh). He was known to Twin Peaks fans as the multi-faceted villain Windom Earle, and had more recently played the father of Katharine Hepburn (Cate Blanchett) in Martin Scorsese's The Aviator. In 1984 he was nominated for a Genie Award as Best Actor for his portrayal of Reno Colt in the film "Reno and the Doc", written and directed by Charles Dennis. In 1997 Welsh directed Dennis in the latter's play "SoHo Duo" at the West Bank Theatre in New York City. Welsh was born in Edmonton, Alberta to a father who worked for the Canadian National Railway. He grew up in Alberta and studied drama at school. He later moved to Montreal and attended the National Theatre School. Following graduation, he auditioned for the Stratford Festival in Ontario and then spent the first seven years of his career on stage. Welsh has portrayed historical figures including Thomas E. Dewey, Colin Thatcher, Harry S. Truman (twice), Thomas Edison, James "Scotty" Reston, General Harry Crerar and James Baker. He has made guest appearances on the acclaimed TV series Due South and Slings and Arrows. In 2003, he was made a Member of the Order of Canada. His role as the Vice-President of the United States in the 2004 environmental disaster film The Day After Tomorrow sparked some controversy due to his physical resemblance to Dick Cheney, who at the time was the real Vice President. Director Roland Emmerich later confirmed that he deliberately chose Welsh for that very reason. Emmerich stated that the character of the Vice-President in the film was intended to be a not-so-subtle criticism of the environmental policies of the Presidency of George W. Bush. Description above from the Wikipedia article Kenneth Welsh, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Most Known For

Law & Order

as Ben O'Dell

Smallville

as Drunk Santa

The Blacklist

as Werner von Hauser

The X-Files

as Simon Gates

Twin Peaks

as Windom Earle

The Expanse

as Franklin Degraaf

Great Performances

as Charles Surface

Star Trek: Discovery

as Senna Tal (voice)

Star Trek: Discovery

as Senna Tal

Stargate Atlantis

as Jamus

The Practice

as Judge M. Harrod

The Twilight Zone

The Outer Limits

as Dr. Vasquez

Haven

as Cole Glendower

The Guardian

The Listener

as Albert Jacoby

The Ray Bradbury Theater

as Crane

The Ray Bradbury Theater

as Captain Wilder

Due South

as Randal K. Bolt

Due South

as Cyrus Bolt